The present invention relates to apparatus for temporarily attaching objects such as skis and ski poles to a flat surface in a secure manner. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for temporarily attaching awkwardly shaped items such as ski equipment or the like to a vertical, generally flat surface of a vehicle. The present invention is especially useful for securely fastening skis, ski poles and the like to a vertically mounted door such as are employed on van-type vehicles.
The various passenger vehicles available for all their many advantages have significant disadvantages when it comes to transporting relatively long or awkwardly shaped objects such as skis, ski poles, bicycles and so forth.
The interiors of such vehicles either cannot accommodate ski equipment or alternatively are not well-suited to interior carrying thereof. Accordingly, there have been many efforts directed towards providing a mounting rack on the exterior of the vehicle which can accommodate the skis or other awkward equipment. Ordinary cartop carriers have been used in many instances but such devices are awkward as anyone who has removed skis from the middle of such a cartop carrier can attest. One suggested solution is to render the entire rack removable with the equipment in place as is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,504,921 by Osmond and 2,764,381 by Anderson. Since removing entire racks with the attached equipment is no less awkward than attempting to remove individual skis from the roof of the vehicle, there have been other efforts to attach mounting racks to the rear bumper or trunk lid of the vehicle as are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,106,503 by Hendrick, 2,409,103 by Cameron, Re, 27,170 by Porter and 3,439,707 by Wright. It has also been suggested that skis can be temporarily attached by an upright pin and engaging strap arrangement as are shown in the aforementioned Porter patent and also in U.S. Pat. No. 3,242,704 by Barreca.
Although many of the suggested rack mounting configurations are suitable for a variety of passenger vehicles, none provide a satisfactory solution for the presently popular van-type vehicle which has a relatively high roof and vertical sides including the rear thereof. Removal of ski equipment from a roof-mounted carrier on such vans is extremely awkward and difficult even for skis attached near the roof edge. Further, the existing ski racks do not provide convenient accommodations for ski poles which are also awkward for storage within the vehicle itself. In addition, the existing racks are generally not well-adapted for accommodating a mix of both long and short skis.